Spindorphin

ABSTRACT

A method for adding appeal to an activity by integrating it with chance and reward through using a randomizing device or method involving a variety of action categories related to the activity and data categories that together serve as the inputs and outputs of the randomizing device or method and a prize for performance of the action categories. After being activated, the randomizing device or method produces an output that is performed by one or more participants and/or manipulates a reward for performance of the action categories. At the conclusion of action category performance, the participation prize is awarded to the participants.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent applicationNo. 61/781,020 filed on Mar. 14, 2013 by the present inventor—Earl ColeZackery

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Humans love excitement, games of chance and winning prizes, all of whichsignificantly affect the release of dopamine and the reward centers ofthe brain. Other behaviors and activities like the consumption of food,sex and drug use similarly affect dopamine release and the rewardcenters of the brain. A strong link has been established between thebehaviors that people like and regularly engage in and behaviors thatcause significant releases of dopamine. Unfortunately, exercise, byitself, does not cause a significant release of dopamine which providesan explanation why the majority of Americans are largely physicallyinactive. The same can be said for many other activities that peopledon't like to do. The invention claimed and discussed herein focuses onexercise and a method to increase its appeal.

Millions of Americans look to the fitness industry for appealingexercise products and spend over $21 Billion annually. The fitnessindustry offers a vast array of exercise products with state of the arthealth and fitness clubs all over America. However, despite the growthof the fitness industry over the last decade and the evolution of itsfitness products, the percentage of Americans that are not meetingpublic health guidelines as set by the U.S. Department of Health andHuman Services has not declined resulting in increasing rates ofobesity. In fact, there is solid data suggesting the overall physicalactivity rate for Americans is declining. In 2011, according toStatistic Brain with WebMD, Centers for Disease Control and Preventionand ManCouch as sources, 60% of Americans didn't get the recommendedamount of physical activity including 25% that were considered sedentaryor not active at all. The amount of people considered sedentary in 2012stood at 26.2% according to the 2012 America's Health Rankings Report.

As of 2006, the average health and fitness club (HFC) membership ratewas only 15.5%. In 2011, according to Statistic Brain with Club Industryand Club Manager Central as sources, U.S. membership sales declined 16%between 2010 and 2011, the average monthly cost of an unlimited usemembership (UUM) was $55.00, the average amount of UUM money that goesto waste from underutilization was $39.00 and 67% of people with UUMsnever use them.

Overall fitness industry growth despite declining membership sales,increasing physical inactivity rates and associated health problems andsubstantial consumer waste of fitness industry products point to oneconclusion; that although there is a strong awareness of the need forregular physical activity and a sincere intention by some to do so, theappeal of exercise, or lack thereof, still prevents many people fromexercising on a regular basis. The physical inactivity epidemic issimply a matter of people not wanting to exercise. A strong need remainsfor the introduction of a method to add appeal to exercise so that itbecomes an activity that people want to do and enjoy doing so that theywill realize the numerous and substantial benefits of regular physicalactivity.

There are a number of methods to add appeal to an activity that is, byitself, unappealing. To date, there are at least fifteen patents onrecord that have linked exercise and chance. One such method involvesU.S. Pat. No. 3,722,885—Exercise Game, filed on behalf of Carol Ann Leafon Jul. 13, 1971 and issued on Mar. 27, 1973. The Exercise Game patentinvolves chance, exercise, skill, competition and individual performanceto arrive at a winner of the game.

A second method involves U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,891 filed on behalf ofSandra J. Gibson on May 2, 1995 and issued on Aug. 13, 1996. This patentcovers an exercise and nutritional board game, apparatus and method tobe played by a group of players. The game involves chance, competition,skill, individual performance, nutrition based questions and answers, anassortment of exercises to be performed by participants and rules andprocedures to arrive at an eventual winner of the game. The Gibsonpatent's primary objective is to provide entertainment, to provideinstructions for low to high impact exercises and stretching exercises,and to provide nutritional information in a manner that the concept offitness takes on a new and exciting dimension, while impartingfundamental information on how to improve personal health.

A third method involves U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,513 that was filed on behalfof Kathy M. Harris on Aug. 30, 1999 and issued on Jul. 2, 2002. Thispatent involves an electronic game of chance, an exercise machine andindividual performance. The inventors of this idea imagined its usewithin gaming arenas such as casinos whereby exercise would be acondition of game play.

A fourth method involves U.S. Pat. No. 7,568,700 that was filed onbehalf of Matthew C. Bentley on Mar. 27, 2006 and issued on Aug. 4, 2009and is titled Fitness Bingo (FITGO). FITGO is a Bingo type gameavailable for purchase in which assorted exercises are called outinstead of numbers. When an exercise is called out, players with thecalled out exercise on their call out card perform the exercise and marktheir card. The first player that completes a horizontal, vertical ordiagonal line on their call out card wins the game and shouts FITGO. Thegame was developed for teachers to use in a classroom setting to gettheir kids moving in a fun way.

The commonality shared with each of the above mentioned patents is thatthey attempt to add appeal to exercise by linking it with something thatis universally enjoyed, that being the element of chance. However, allof the patents involve methods that produce winners and losers. With theexception of Fitness Bingo, skill provides participants an advantage.With the exception of U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,513, all involve competitionwith other participants. None of patents involve a prize forparticipation and none of the patents use chance to manipulate a prizefor participation.

Although there are a number of methods to add appeal to exercise,today's sedentary society is in need of a method to transform exerciseinto an activity that people want to do despite their physical activitylevel, so that their choice to exercise is positively reinforced.

The following tabulation is some prior art that presently appearsrelevant:

References Cited U.S. Patent Documents 3,722,885 March 1973 Carol AnnLeaf 4,040,628 August 1977 Isaac Louis Pope 4,159,117 June 1979 Wayne A.Kuna 4,174,840 November 1919 Richard A. Curtiss 4,298,893 November 1981James H. Holmes 4,440,396 April 1984 Rosalie Frudakis 4,542,897September 1985 Donald L. Melton 4,711,447 December 1987 Michael R.Mansfield 5,142,358 August 1992 Leonard A. Jason 5,246,411 September1993 Michael I. Rackman 5,362,069 November 1994 Justin Hall-Tipping5,544,891 August 1996 Sandra J. Gibson 5,645,513 July 1997 ChristopherJ. Haydocy 6,413,191 July 2002 Kathy M. Harris 7,568,700 August 2009Matthew C. Bentley

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Spindorphin is a method for adding appeal to an activity by integratingthe activity with chance and reward through use of a randomizing deviceor method whereby the device or method dictates a variety of actionsrelated to the activity to be performed and manipulates the reward forperformance of the actions. The activity chosen for further discussionrelates to physical activity although the invention could be used withmany other types of activities including academic and commercial.

The invention is used by choosing an action category or variety ofaction categories related to the activity to be performed, determining aprize to be awarded for action and choosing one or more data categories.The variety of categories are then used in conjunction with arandomizing device or method to produce a singular output that is eitheran action to be performed by participants or a data category thatprovides instruction to the device or method activator or manipulatesthe prize awarded to participants for performing the actions and affordsthe device or method activator choice of an action category to beperformed by participants. Action categories are performed for a periodof time or number of repetitions. The amount of action to be performedis based on the number of outputs from the randomizing device or methodand the amount of time or number of repetitions each action isperformed.

ADVANTAGES

The focus is on participation versus competition against otherparticipants. Therefore all participants are winners so long as theyparticipate. Participants are engaged in the exercise experience frombeginning to end due to the integration of prize and action with therandomizing device or method. Participants are engaged because theirexercise experience is not predetermined. Participants are united duringthe exercise experience because individual performance positivelyaffects all participants. Participants are rewarded for theirperformance in a non-competitive environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1—A depiction of a randomizing device

FIG. 2—A depiction of a reward scheme

DRAWING REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   10 wheel-   20 category overlay-   30 backboard-   40 mechanism for stopping wheel rotation-   50 data category-   60 action category-   70 wheel dowel-   80 participation reward scheme-   90 base reward-   100 # of wheel spins-   110 bonus point total-   120 base reward magnifier-   130 total reward

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

There is provided a method for adding appeal to exercise by integratingit with prize and chance that is easy to use, adaptable and suitable foruse by people of all ages. Furthermore, the present invention can beused by any number of participants, regardless of their fitness level.

An exercise method that is generally comprised of one or moreparticipants, a participation prize for each participant, a plurality ofaction and data categories and a means to activate the randomizingdevice or method to achieve a singular output. Action categories are avariety of exercises to be performed by one or more participants for aspecific time period or number of repetitions. Data categories provideinstruction to the device or method activator or are used to manipulatethe participation prize and afford the device or method activator choiceof an exercise to be performed by one or more of the participants for aspecified time period or number of repetitions. Participant exerciseconcludes when a specified number of device or method activations haveoccurred at which time the prize for participation is awarded to eachparticipant.

Although an embodiment can be used with one person, its use by more thanone person increases the social value participants receive as does theparticipants performing the exercises together. Additionally, a switchoperated fire bell and strobe light can be used for audible excitement.Furthermore, popular music can be played during exercise to enhance theexercise experience.

A wheel, as depicted in FIG. 1, is an example of a randomizing device ormethod that can be seen, felt and heard. However, many other devices ormethods will suffice such as a paper bag containing a variety ofcategories written on small pieces of paper or a deck of cards in whicheach card corresponds to an action or data category. The wheel 10, asshown in FIG. 1 has protruding dowels 70 and is affixed to a surfacesuch as a free standing backboard 30. A mechanism 40 is secured to thebackboard 30 and stops wheel rotation through intersection with thewheel's 10 dowels 70.

A removable overlay 20 with a printed segmented surface is affixedwithin the wheel's 10 dowels 70 so that the outer edges of each segmentare in alignment with the center of a dowel 70. Within the segmentborders of each segment on the overlay 20 is the printed name of anaction category 60 or a data category 50. Action categories bear thenames of different exercises such as Push-Up, Burpee, Plank and Squat.Data categories bear the name of Bonus and carry a point value such as250 Bonus, 125 Bonus, 100 Bonus and 50 Bonus. An alternative to using aprinted overlay 20 is to print the names of the categories directly onthe wheel's surface. The wheel's surface could be of an erasablematerial. Additionally, action categories could be academic subjectmatter such as math and history whereas the data categories could be anytitle or instruction that bears on the prize for participation and/orsolely provides instruction to the device or method activator. “SPINAGAIN” is an example of a title of a data category that does not bear onthe participation prize but provides an instruction to the device ormethod activator.

Exercise begins by a participant spinning the wheel 10. If the number ofparticipants doesn't allow each participant to spin the wheel 10 arandom method can be used to select wheel 10 spinners. After the wheel10 is spun by a participant, the wheel's 10 rotation will stop due tothe wheel's 10 dowels 70 being intersected by the mechanism to stopwheel rotation 40. In addition to stopping wheel rotation, the mechanism40 also designates an overlay 20 category. If the wheel 10 stops on anaction category 60, Push-Ups are performed by the participants for atime period or number of repetitions whereas if the wheel 10 stops on aBonus category 50, its value is recorded and used to manipulate thereward for participation. Bonus categories 50 also afford the wheelspinner choice of an exercise on the wheel overlay 20 to be performed bythe participants, including the wheel spinner. Exercise concludes aftera specified number of wheel spins have occurred at which time the prizefor participation is awarded to each participant.

The prize to be awarded to each participant at the conclusion ofexercise or the workout can be something in which its quantity can beeasily manipulated or added to such as money or a food item. Forexample, if the participation reward is an ounce of each participant'sfavorite ice cream, bonus points achieved could be used to determine thenumber of toppings participants get to add to it. FIG. 2 illustrates amonetary reward scheme 80 whereby the number of wheel spins 100, Bonuspoint total 110 and a magnifier are used to manipulate the participationreward 90 to arrive at a total reward 130 for each participant. Forexample, if the participation reward 90 is $1.00, the number of wheelspins 100 is 15 and the Bonus point total is 800 then the participationreward 90 would be increased by the magnifier 120 to arrive at a totalreward 130 of $1.15 awarded to each participant. The simple rewardscheme 80 shown is just one of an infinite number of schemes that can beused to manipulate the participation reward.

A second embodiment uses a computer program as the randomizing device ormethod and a means for displaying the outputs to participants. Theoutputs are used in the same fashion as in the first embodiment. As analternative to the reward scheme presented in the first embodiment,participants become eligible for the reward scheme after completing aspecified number of workouts with a specified time frame. For example,participants must complete at least 2 workouts within 30 days to beawarded a participation prize provided at the end of the 30 day periodwith the prize being the total prize after all prize manipulations inthe 30 day period have been factored in. The number of workoutscompleted in a specified time period can also progressively bear on thebase value of the participation prize as well the degree to which it ismanipulated.

It is without argument that millions, perhaps billions of people allaround the world find exercise to be very unappealing. The same can besaid for academics although not to the same degree. Spindorphin is acreative and clever way to use the addictive qualities of gaming in apositive way. Whatever the activity is to be made more appealing so thatit is performed more often, can be achieved with Spindorphin. There arenumerous randomizing devices and methods that are either readilyavailable, easy to make or available for purchase at little or no cost.Studies have shown that people love to win prizes and be rewarded andthat the psychological impact of winning and being rewarded is perhapsmore important than the size of the prize or reward. Spindorphin makeswinners, never losers. Spindorphin is all about motivating people to domore of what is good for them.

While there have been described ways to use the present invention, thoseskilled in the art will recognize that other and further changes andmodifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit ofthe invention, and it is intended to claim all such changes andmodifications as fall within the true scope of the invention.

A method for adding appeal to an activity by integrating said activitywith chance and reward comprising:

1. a randomizing device or method
 2. a plurality of action categoriesthat relate to said activity and data categories that together servedirectly or indirectly as inputs and outputs of said randomizing deviceor method
 3. a reward or scheme for rewarding performance of the actioncategories by said one or more humans
 4. in accordance with claim 1wherein said randomizing device or method is a wheel with protrudingdowels that is mounted to a surface with a mechanism to stop wheelrotation and designate one of said inputs
 5. in accordance with claim 2,the plurality of said inputs are in the form of a circular overlay thatis secured within said wheel's dowels and has a printed segmentedsurface in which the outer edges of each segment border aligns with thecenter of a dowel and has the name of a said input from said pluralityof inputs printed within the borders of each segment
 6. in accordancewith claim 4, a means for activating said wheel to produce an outputthat is: a. a said action category to be performed by one or more humansfor a period of time or number of repetitions or b. a said data categoryto be used to manipulate said reward or scheme and afford the activatorof said wheel choice of a said action category to be performed by saidone or more humans for a period of time or number of repetitions c. asaid data category that provides instruction to said activator of saidwheel whereby integrating the elements of action, chance and rewarddynamically motivate performance of said activity.